Rolling walker

ABSTRACT

A walker device for assisting an individual with mobility which is temporarily convertible to a wheeled transportation chair, includes a frame structure having two front legs and two rear legs supported or rotatable wheels. A seat is attached to the frame structure. A backrest is selectively disposed in a front position for a rearward seating condition or in a rear position for a forward seating condition. A footrest assembly is optionally attached to the frame structure and is adapted to pivot about first and second pivoting axes parallel to each other, between a folded position and an unfolded position.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a rolling walker, and more particularlyto a rolling walker which can be can be temporarily converted to atransportation chair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rolling walkers or wheeled walkers are widely used by elderly peopleand/or other people experiencing difficulty walking without a walkingaid. A rolling walker typically has a frame mounted on four rollers orwheels and a pair of rearwardly extending hand grips to be gripped bythe user for support while walking. Rolling walkers permit the user tobe positioned behind the hand grips and to push and roll the walkerforward over the ground. Rolling walkers usually include a seatingsurface to allow the user to rest in a sitting position with the user'sfeet typically resting on the ground, which requires the user to turnaround and sit down in a rearward-facing direction, opposite to thedirection of travel. Such a sitting position of the rolling walkercannot be used to temporarily transport the user when the assistance ofa care-giver is required because there is very little space between theuser and the care giver when the user is seated in the rearward facingposition between the hand grips. Furthermore, the conventional rollingwalker does not have dedicated feet support elements which are requiredto support the user's feet when seated for transportation.

Therefore, there is a need for a rolling walker which provides thefunctionality of assisting people in walking and is temporarilyconvertible to a wheeled transportation chair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a rolling walker whichis temporarily convertible to a wheeled transportation chair.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a walker devicefor assisting an individual with mobility comprises a frame structureincluding two front legs in a substantially parallel relationship, eachhaving an upper end and a lower end thereof, two rear legs in asubstantially parallel relationship, each having an upper end and alower end thereof, the rear legs being connected at the upper endthereof to the respective front legs. Means are provided for rolling thewalker device along a support surface. A seat is attached to the framestructure and extends between the front legs and between the rear legs.A detachable backrest is adapted to be selectively attached to the frontlegs in a front position or to the rear legs in a rear position.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a walkerdevice for assisting an individual with mobility and convertible to atransportation chair comprises a frame structure supported on rotatablewheels, including two front legs in a substantially parallelrelationship, each having an upper end and a lower end thereof, two rearlegs in a substantially parallel relationship, each having an upper endand a lower end, the rear legs being connected at the upper end thereofto the respective front legs. A seat attached to the frame structureextends between the front legs and between the rear legs. A backrest isattached to the frame structure and is adapted to be selectivelydisposed in a front position for a rearward seating condition or in arear position for a forward seating condition. A footrest assembly isattached to the frame structure and is adapted to pivot about parallelfirst and second pivoting axes, between a folded position and anunfolded position.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will be betterunderstood with reference to the preferred embodiments describedhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by wayof illustration the preferred embodiments thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a walker device for assisting anindividual with mobility according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the walker device of FIG. 1, converted toa wheeled transportation chair;

FIG. 3 is a partial isometric view of a footrest assembly attached to aframe structure of the walker device of FIG. 1, showing in an partiallyexploded view, the folded position of the footrest assembly;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the footrest assembly taken alongline 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partially isometric view of the foot assembly of the walkerdevice converted to a wheeled transportation chair, as illustrated inFIG. 2, showing in a partially exploded view, the unfolded position ofthe footrest assembly;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the footrest assembly taken alongline 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial front view of a hinge device used in the footrestassembly shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the hinge device taken along line5-5 in FIG. 7, showing means incorporated to the hinge device forrestricting the pivoting motion of the footrest assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a walker device generally indicated bynumeral 10 which is normally used as a rolling walker for assisting anindividual with mobility, as shown in FIG. 1, can be temporarilyconverted into a wheeled transportation chair, as shown in FIG. 2. Thewalker device 10 generally includes a frame structure 12 which has twosides symmetric about a central vertical plane (not shown). For clarityand convenience of illustration, components which are identical on therespective sides of the walker device will be indicated only on one ofthe sides.

The frame structure 12 includes two front legs 14 disposed in asubstantially parallel relationship on the respective sides, each havingan upper and 16 and a lower end 18 thereof. The front legs 14 arepreferably made of metal tubes and are disposed in a slanted orientationwith the lower end 18 thereof preferably slightly bent in a verticaldirection.

The frame structure 12 further includes two rear legs 20 in asubstantially parallel relationship, each have an upper end 22 and alower end 24 thereof. The rear legs 20 are connected at the upper end22, preferably through a hinge device (not indicated), to the upper end16 of the respective front legs 14. The rear legs 20 are also preferablymade of metal tubes.

An interconnecting frame, preferably a folding frame assembly, isprovided with two foldable rods 26 which are pivotably fastened to thefront legs 14 and the rear legs 20 at the respective sides of the framestructure 12. The foldable rods 26 are provided about a bracing rod 28which extends transversely across the frame structure 12 and ispivotably connected to the respective foldable rods 26. Therefore, theframe structure 12 preferably presents an A-shaped configuration in aside view thereof. However, due to the foldability, the frame structure12 can be collapsed into a packing condition for storage and/ortransportation.

Rollers, castors and/or small wheels 30 are rotatably mounted to thelower ends 18, 24 of the respective front a rear legs 14, 20 for rollingthe walker device 10 along a support surface, for example, a groundsurface. The two small wheels 20 attached to the front legs 18 arepreferably pivotably fastened to the vertical lower ends 18 such thatthe two small front wheels 30 are capable of a 360° rotation, which iswell known in the industry and will not be further described herein.

The frame structure 12 is reinforced by cross members 32, 34 and 36preferably made of metal tubes, which extend transversely across theframe structure 12 to interconnect the two sides of the frame structure.In particular, cross member 32 is connected at opposed ends thereof, forexample by fasteners (not shown) directly to the lower ends 18 of therespective front legs 14, and extends therebetween. The cross member 34,preferably in a U-shape, is attached to the respect front legs 14 at amiddle section thereof by a pair of brackets 38. The brackets 38 whichcan be made of a small section of tube or can be formed as a sleeve, forexample, are attached to the front legs 18, for example by welding, anddefine a hole (not shown) extending through the respective brackets 38.The two ends of the U-shaped cross member 34 are inserted into therespective brackets 38 from a lower end thereof, and are affixed to thebrackets 38 by fasteners (not indicated). It should be noted that theends of the U-shaped cross member 34 are received only half way into themounting hole of the brackets 38, and therefore the upper portion of themounting hole in the respective brackets 28 are still available forreceiving a tubular connection member therein.

The cross member 36, preferably in a U-shape, is connected to the rearlegs 20 by a pair of brackets 40 in a manner similar to the connectionof the cross member 34 to the front legs 14, and therefore thedescription thereof will not be repeated herein.

A seat 42 is provided with the frame structure 12 to extend between thefront legs 14 and between the rear legs 20, and is supported on thecross members 34, 36. It is preferably to pivotably attach the seat 42to one of the cross members 34, 36 (such as to the front cross member34) and detachably rest the seat 42 on the other (such as the rear crossmember 36) such that the seat 32 can be pivoted about one of the crossmembers 34, 36 to allow the rear legs 20 to pivot towards the front legs14 when the frame structure 12 must be collapsed. The cross members 34,36 are disposed at substantially a same height relative to the supportsurface such that the seat 42 is disposed in a substantially horizontalorientation. A cloth bag 43 is optionally provided under the seat, forexample by being tied to the respective cross members 34, 36.

A pair of hand grips 44 are provided to the frame structure 12. Each ofthe hand grips 44 is preferably made of a metal tube which can beslidably received in the upper end 16 of the tubular front legs 14 suchthat the height of the hand grips 44 can be adjusted relative to thesupport surface in accordance with the user's requirements. The handgrips 44 can be locked in a desired position by a variety of lockingmeans (not indicated) which are well known in the industry and will nottherefore be described herein. Each of the hand grips 44 includes anupper end which is bent at an angle relative to the slanted orientationof the front legs 14 in order to form a grip portion 46 to which a leverassembly 48 is attached to activate a brake 50 mounted to the lower end24 of the respective rear legs 20 through a cable (not indicated). Thelever assembly 48 and the bracket 50 are conventional and will not befurther described in detail.

A backrest 52 is detachably and selectively mounted to the framestructure 12 in a front position, as shown in FIG. 1, or in a rearposition as shown in FIG. 2. The backrest 52 is preferably made of ametal tube having a upper portion 54 extending between two arms 56 whichare configured so as to position the upper portion 54 to comfortablysupport the back of a user seated on the seat 42 when the back rest 52is attached to the frame structure 12, either in the front position orthe in the rear position, depending on the way the user is to be seated.The upper portion 54 is preferably wrapped with a cushion material.

In particular, when the backrest 52 is disposed in the front position asshown in FIG. 1, the ends of the arms 56 of the backrest 52 are receivedin the upper portion of the mounting hole defined in the respectivebrackets 38. Fasteners are optional to further secure the backrest 52 inposition. In contrast to the attachment of the cross member 34 to thebrackets 38 which do not require frequent detachment, the attachment ofbackrest 52 to the bracket 38 requires both reliability and conveniencefor detachment. Therefore, it is preferred that enough length of theattached ends of the arms 56 is received within the respective brackets38 to ensure secure attachment of backrest 52 to brackets 38, withoutthe need for additional fastening means.

The backrest 52 can be conveniently detached from the brackets 38 and,in a similar way, can be attached to the respective brackets 40 on therear legs 20 to permit a rear seating position as shown in FIG. 2. Whenthe backrest 52 is disposed in the rear position, the upper portion 54of the backrest 52 may extend between the grip portions 46 of the handgrips 44 and the lever assemblies 48, depending on the adjusted positionof the hand grips 44. Therefore, the upper portion 54 of the backrest 52should be sized appropriately and the arms 56 should be configuredaccordingly to avoid interference between the upper portion 54 of thebackrest 52 and the hand grips 44 and lever assemblies 48.

Further referring to FIGS. 1-7, a foldable footrest assembly 58 isattached to the frame structure 12 and is adapted to pivot about firstand second pivoting axes 60, 62 (see FIG. 2) which are parallel to eachother and extend transversely across the frame structure 12, between afolded position as shown in FIG. 1 and an unfolded position as shown inFIG. 2. The footrest assembly 58 is preferably made of metal tubularmaterials. In accordnace with one embodiment of the present invention,the footrest assembly 58 includes a pair of arms 64, each having firstand second ends 66, 68 thereof. Each of the arms 64 is pivotably mountedat the first end 66 thereof to one of the front legs 14, preferably bymeans of a hinge device 70, and is adapted to pivot about the firstpivoting axis 60. A foot rest bar 72, preferably configured in a Ushape, is pivotably connected at each end to the second end 68 of thecorresponding one of the arms 64, preferably by means of a hinge device74, and is adapted to pivot about the second pivoting axis 62.

The arms 64 are bent at a location near the first end 66 thereof at anangle substantially similar to the angle between the vertical lower end18 and the slanted major portion of the front leg 14. In the foldedposition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-4, the arms 64 of the footrestassembly 58 are pivoted about the first pivoting axis 60 such that thearms 64 extend upwardly in an orientation similar to that of the slantedfront legs 14. The U-shaped footrest bar 72 is suspended downwardly fromthe second end 68 of the upwardly extending arms 64, preferably pivotingslightly towards the cloth bag 43 and is releasably attached to thecloth bag 43 for example by a strap fastener 76. Therefore, when thefootrest assembly 58 is disposed in this folded position, the footrestassembly 58 is somewhat hidden within the frame structure 12.

When the footrest assembly 58 is disposed in an unfolded position asshown in FIGS. 2 and 5-6, the arms 64 extend forwardly from the framestructure 12 with the U-shaped footrest bar 72 suspended downwardly fromthe second end 68 of the forwardly extending arms 64. The footrest bar52 is positioned above and spaced apart from the ground surface to allowthe walker device 10 to move along the ground surface withoutinterference. The hinge device 70 which pivotably connects the first end66 of the arm 64 to one of the front legs 14, is preferably attached tothe front leg 14 at a location slightly above the cross member 32 suchthat a section of the arm 64 near the first end 66 thereof rests on thecross member 32 when the arms 64 extend forwardly in a substantiallyhorizontal direction, as more clearly shown in FIG. 6. In such aconfiguration, a load from a user's feet to the footrest bar 72, istransferred to the frame structure 12 through both the cross member 32and the hinge devices 74. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the cross member 32preferably has two end sections (not indicated) reinforced with sleevesections therearound to support the respective arms 64 resting thereon.The U-shaped footrest bar preferably includes a section of sleeves (notindicated) loosely therearound to provide a comfortable rest element forthe user's feet. The hinge devices 70 and 74 are similar and preferablyinclude means for restricting the pivoting motion of the footrestassembly 58.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the hingedevice 70 (as well as the hinge device 74) is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and8. The hinge device 70 includes a pair of hinge elements 701 and 702affixed to the respective lower end 18 of one front leg 14 and thesecond end 66 of one arm 64 and rotatable relative to each other about abolt 703 which extends through central holes defined in the hingeelements 701, 702 to be secured to the front leg 14. Each of the hingeelements 701, 702 has a flat end surface 704, 705 with an axialprotruding member 705, 707. Each of the protruding members 706, 707takes up a circumferential section of the flat end surfaces 704 or 705to allow the hinge elements 701, 702 to rotate or pivot within anangular range to a point at which the two protruding members 706, 707meet together at either side thereof. In this embodiment, each of theprotruding members 706, 707 takes up a circumferential section of about⅓ of the respective flat end surface 704 or 705 such that the pivotableangular range indicated by A in FIG. 8 is limited to about 120°.

It should be noted that any desirable pivoting range can be obtained bychoosing the circumferential dimensions of the protruding members 706and 707. It should also be noted that in order to have the footrestassembly 58 pivotable between the desired orientations (the folded andunfolded positions as shown in the respective FIGS. 1 and 2) thecircumferential position of the respective protruding members 706, 707should be properly determined when the hinge devices are affixed to thecorresponding connecting members such as front legs 18 and arms 64, orarms 64 and the U-shaped footrest bar 72.

In operation, the frame structure 12 is fully extended from itscollapsed storage condition to form a stable A-shaped configurationwhich can be pushed and rolled on the ground or other support surfaces.When the walker device 10 is used as a roller walker for assisting anindividual while walking, the backrest 52 is placed in the frontposition and the footrest assembly 58 is disposed in the folded positionand is secured to the cloth bag 43, as shown in FIG. 1. Optionally, thebackrest 52 can be removed from the frame structure 12 entirely, ifdesired. The user grips the grip portions 46 of the hand grips 44 andpushes the walker device 10 on the support surface while therebehind.When the user wishes to rest, the user can press the lever assemblies tobrake the rear wheels 30. The lever assemblies 48 preferably has thefunction to lock the braking condition. After the rear wheels 30 arelocked in the braked condition, the user can turn around and sit on theseat 42 facing rearwardly. The user can lean against the backrest 52which is placed in the front position.

When the walker device 10 is temporarily used as a wheeledtransportation chair, the backrest 52 is detached from the brackets 38and the arms 56 thereof are then inserted into the brackets 40 on therear legs 20, thereby forming the rear position of the backrest 52. Theupper portion 54 of the backrest 52 extends between the two hand grips44 behind the seat 42, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The strap fastener 76on the cloth bag 43 is released to allow the footrest assembly 58 to bepivoted about the respective pivoting axes 60, 62 from the foldedposition (shown in FIG. 1) to the unfolded position (see FIG. 2). In theunfolded position, the U-shaped footrest bar 72 is suspended downwardlyfrom the forwardly extending arms 64, and is spaced apart from thesupport surface. The footrest assembly 58 is prevented from pivoting farenough to cause contact between the U-shaped footrest bar and the groundsurface, by the axial protruding members 706, 707 of the hinge device 70and/or by the cross member 32 which prevents the further pivoting motionof the arms 64 about the pivoting axis 60. The user can then be seatedon the seat 42 facing forwardly, with his/her feet resting on theU-shaped footrest bar 72, and the walker device 10 which is nowtemporarily converted to a wheeled transportation chair can be pushedand rolled on the ground or other support surfaces by a caregiver whowalks behind the walker device 10.

The above description is meant to be exemplary only and one skilled inthe art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodimentsdescribed without departure from the scope of the invention disclosed.For example, the present invention can be applicable to a walker devicehaving a frame structure different from the described frame structure,such as one which is not collapsible, and/or not presenting a generalA-shaped configuration. The hand grips, brake system and wheels may beconfigured differently from those of the described embodiments and thecloth bag is optional. Still other modifications which fall within thescope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of a review of this disclosure, and such modifications areintended to fall within the appended claims.

1. A walker device for assisting an individual with mobility,comprising: a frame structure including: two front legs in asubstantially parallel relationship, each having an upper end and alower end thereof, and two rear legs in a substantially parallelrelationship, each having an upper end and a lower end thereof, the rearlegs being connected at the upper end thereof to the respective frontlegs; means for rolling transporting the walker device along a supportsurface; a seat attached to the frame structure and extending betweenthe front legs and between the rear legs; and a detachable backrestadapted to be selectively attached to the front legs in a front positionor to the rear legs in a rear position.
 2. The walker device as definedin claim 1 wherein the frame structure comprises a first pair ofbrackets affixed to the respective front legs for receiving the backrestin the front position and a second pair of brackets affixed to therespective rear legs for receiving the backrest in the rear position. 3.The walker device as defined in claim 2 wherein the backrest comprisesan upper portion extending transversely with respect to the framestructure and two arms to be selectively supported in the first orsecond pair of brackets.
 4. The walker device as defined in claim 3wherein the frame structure comprises a pair of hand grips, each beingadjustably attached to the upper end of one of the front legs, the handgrips being enabled to adjust in height without interference with theupper portion of the backrest when the backrest is in the rear position.5. The walker device as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for rollingtransporting the walker device along the support surface comprises fourwheels, each being attached to the lower end of the respective front andrear legs.
 6. The walker device as defined in claim 1 comprising afoldable footrest assembly attached to the lower ends of the front legs,the footrest assembly being selectively dispose din a folded positionwhen the walker device is used as a walker or in an unfolded position tosupport a user's feet when the walker device is used as a transportationchair.
 7. The walker device as defined in claim 6 wherein the footrestassembly comprises a pair of arms, each having first and second endsthereof, the arms being pivotally mounted at the first ends thereof tothe respective front legs and adapted to pivot about a first pivotingaxis extending transversely across the frame structure, the armssupporting a footrest bar at the second ends thereof.
 8. The walkerdevice as defined in claim 7 wherein the footrest bar is configured in aU shape, pivotally connected to the second ends of the arms and adaptedto pivot about a second pivoting axis substantially parallel to thefirst pivoting axis.
 9. A walker device for assisting an individual withmobility, the walker device being convertible to a transportation chair,comprising: a frame structure supported on rotatable wheels, including:two front legs in a substantially parallel relationship, each having anupper end and a lower end thereof, and two rear legs in a substantiallyparallel relationship, each having an upper end and a lower end; a seatattached to the frame structure; a backrest attached to the framestructure and adapted to be selectively disposed in a front position fora rearward seating condition or in a rear position for a forward seatingcondition; and a footrest assembly attached to the frame structure andadapted to pivot about first and second pivoting axes parallel to eachother, between a folded position and an unfolded position.
 10. Thewalker device as defined in claim 9 wherein the footrest assemblycomprises a pair of arms, each having first and second ends thereof, thearms being pivotally connected at the first ends thereof to the lowerends of the front legs and being adapted to pivot about the pivotingfirst axis.
 11. The walker device as defined in claim 10 wherein thearms of the footrest are substantially oriented similarly to anorientation of the front legs when the footrest assembly is in thefolded position, and wherein the arms extend forwardly from the framestructure when the footrest assembly is in the unfolded position. 12.The walker device as defined in claim 11 wherein the footrest assemblycomprises a footrest member pivotally connected to the second ends ofthe arms to pivot about the second pivoting axis.
 13. The walker deviceas defined in claim 12 wherein the footrest member is suspendeddownwardly from the second ends of the arms when the footrest assemblyis in either the folded or unfolded condition.
 14. The walker device asdefined in claim 9 wherein the footrest assembly comprises a first hingedevice having means for restricting a first pivotal motion of thefootrest assembly about the first pivotal axis within a firstpredetermined angular range, and a second hinge device having means forrestricting a second pivotal motion of the footrest assembly about thesecond pivotal axis within a second predetermined angular range.